


invisible machinery

by Petr1chor



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Boyfriends, Boys In Love, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Exams, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Forehead Kisses, Grantaire takes care of his boyfriend, M/M, Stress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:41:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29683437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petr1chor/pseuds/Petr1chor
Summary: Enjolras is stressed about his exam and Grantaire gives him kisses, cookies and timeless wisdom.
Relationships: Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 46





	invisible machinery

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy  
> this is a prompt fill i did on tumblr   
> Enjoy!

Enjolras stilled at the sound of the door unlocking. He hastily rubbed at his eyes to erase only the beginning of the little pity party he had planned to have, just as Grantaire called his name.

“In here!” he called, trying his hardest to keep his voice steady.

He could hear Grantaire’s footsteps getting closer, and he arranged the books around him, trying his hardest to look like he’d been studying.

“Hi, love,” Grantaire said, smiling from where he was leaning on the doorway.

Enjolras felt his own mouth curl into a smile at the sight, longing to be held by him. Grantaire, almost like he could hear his thought, came closer. He brushed the hair that had escaped his braid away from his face with a gentle hand.

“Have you been studying all day?”

Enjolras shrugged, the blunt, heavy feeling of anxiety pushing at his ribs from the inside once more.

“Have you eaten anything all day?”

“I had a sandwich for lunch,” he murmured.

Grantaire smiled, his eyes going soft.

“Good. I’m proud of you,” he said, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Enjolras shut his eyes, a shudder going through him. Grantaire’s hands deftly undid his braid, combing through his hair.

“You shouldn’t be. I’m going to fail this exam.”

“Enj, honey, what’s going on?”

“I just-you wouldn’t understand,” Enjolras hated how whiny he sounded, “I’m not like you. I can’t just get by on natural intellect.”

“You have plenty of natural intellect.”

Enjolras groaned, “You know that’s not what I mean.”

“You can’t bullshit your way through an exam?” Grantaire said, his voice amused, but soft, “That’s not because you aren’t capable of it, it’s because you want to be sincere in everything. That’s something I love about you, always so earnest.”

He removed his hand from his hair, only to take his face in both his hands, and Enjolras felt something tight in his chest. His eyes were filling and Grantaire tilted his head, looking at him.

He brushed the tears away with his thumb, kissing his forehead.

“How much do you have left?”

“Two more units.”

“Well you have whole of tomorrow, how about we take a little break?”

Enjolras began to protest, but Grantaire placed a fingering on his lips, “Jehan sent over cookies too, they stress baked too many. I’ll even make you some tea.”

Enjolras sighed, allowing Grantaire to wrangle him away from his desk in a poor attempt to cover up that he really just wanted to hold him. It had thrown him off so much, when they first began becoming friends, any vulnerability Enjolras had shown.

Grantaire had plucked him off the floor and set him on the counter. He squeezed his hip before turning to put the kettle on the stove. Grantaire pried open a large cookie shaped like a cow, laughing when Enjolras raised an eyebrow.

“It’s Cosette’s,” he said, popping a cookie into Enjolras’ mouth and touching the tip of his nose with a smile.

Enjolras tried not to stew in his own thoughts, but even as Grantaire stepped away, sorting through the boxes of tea and choosing one, he could feel a mounting sense of panic coming over him.

He knew that this wasn’t his final, but it still was a significant portion of his grade. He had been on the receiving end of too many of Combeferre’s ‘academic performance does not define intelligence or success in life’ talks to know that his score, however terribly he did, would not be a blemish on who he was. But also, there was a desperate voice in his mind reminding him that the system might be flawed, but it was the system, and if he ever wanted to make a change, if he wanted people to take him seriously, he needed to go through it.

He felt Grantaire wrap Enjolras’ hands around a steaming mug, wrapping his own around them.

“Get out of your head, love. Come back to me.”

Enjolras looked down at him from his perch, disappointed in himself for causing the deep furrow of worry on Grantaire’s face.

“What’s going on if that beautiful mind of yours?”

Enjolras sighed, dragging a hand through his hair.

“I know that my grades don’t define me okay, I _know_ that. But also, companies don’t care about that. No one wants to know who I am as a person. They’re just going to see me as a number and I few words on a piece of paper, and if I want to get somewhere, if I want to make a change, I have to stand out.”

Grantaire gazed at him, leaning against the fridge standing opposite to him. He titled his head. Enjolras grew nervous at the thoughtful expression on his face. It wasn’t his usual thinking face, the one that was followed by long winding rants. No, this was something he saw less often. Grantaire, when he was succinct, always knew the very center of the issue.

“You remember when we were in high school,” he finally began, “And everyone was always trying so hard to convince us that if our grades weren’t excellent, we’d never get into a decent college?”

“Yeah?”

“Were they right?”

Enjolras sighed, taking a long sip, “No.”

Grantaire offered him a wry smile, shrugging. He set his own mug down before coming over and taking Enjolras’ out of his hand too.

He took his face in both his hands, stroking his cheeks with a sort of reverence that make something in Enjolras’ chest swell uncontrollably. When he kissed him, it was soft and familiar. Enjolras felt his shoulders relax, and he grasped blindly at Grantaire’s arms, feeling him chuckle against his mouth.

Grantaire pulled away, only to look into his eyes with a burning intensity. Enjolras felt thrown at being subjected to it.

“You, mon ange, are going to do great things. Regardless of how it goes, one little test is definitely not going to change that, understand?”

Enjolras nodded, dragging Grantaire closer by the front of the t-shirt he was wearing. He came easily, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, as Enjolras circled his waist.

Enjolras buried his face in his neck and inhaled. He exhaled slowly. He could feel a sense of warmth and peace in his chest, engulfing him whole. He felt it settle inside him, and he sighed.

Grantaire laughed softly, turning to press a kiss into his hair, “You’re going to do just fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it!  
> I'm p-trichor on tumblr, come find me if you have a requests, suggestions, or just want to talk :)
> 
> Kudoes and Comments are appreciated! <33


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